新湖畔网 （随信APP) | 马斯克的百万美元美国选民抽奖合法吗？

亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克在推动再选共和党人唐纳德·特朗普的过程中，表示愿意每天向七个关键州的随机注册选民提供100万美元，直到选举日，只要他们签署请愿书参与抽奖 - 版权 © 法新社吉姆·沃森

马里昂·蒂波

特朗普支持者埃隆·马斯克表示，他将在11月5日的美国选举日之前，每天向一个摇摆州的注册选民提供100万美元，这一举动引发了关于此举合法性的疑问。

尽管民主党候选人卡玛拉·哈里斯的竞选团队尚未对这一比赛发表评论，但宾夕法尼亚州民主党州长乔什·夏皮罗在NBC的《Meet the Press》节目中表示:“我认为执法机构应该对此加以调查。”

全球最富有的人马斯克在宾夕法尼亚州宣布了这个比赛，宾夕法尼亚州是七个可能决定谁将成为下一任美国总统 - 哈里斯还是共和党人特朗普的“摇摆州”之一。

特斯拉和SpaceX首席执行官马斯克在他所拥有的社交媒体平台X上表示，参赛者必须签署一份请愿书“支持言论自由和携带武器的权利”。

这一举措引起争议的原因在于，人们必须在摇摆州登记选民才能参与。

乔治城大学法学院教授丹妮尔·朗告诉法新社，这个比赛可能会“受到司法部的民事或刑事执法”的约束。

“给予金钱，要求受赠者注册为选民是非法的，”她说。

“由于这个‘比赛’赢得100万美元的条件是受赠者必须是七个摇摆州中的注册选民，这个提议违反了联邦法律，”她继续说道。

– 灰色地带 –

加州大学洛杉矶分校（UCLA）法学院政治学教授里克·哈森在他的《选举法博客》上表达了类似的观点。

他引用了一项明确规定禁止任何人“付款或提供付款接受付款...以注册选民”的法律，他补充说，违反者将面临1万美元的罚款或最高5年的监禁。

然而，并非所有人都持同样看法。

联邦选举委员会前主席布拉德·史密斯告诉《纽约时报》，马斯克正在做的事情“属于灰色地带”。

史密斯表示，因为马斯克并没有直接支付人们注册选民，而是要求他们签署请愿书，所以“我认为他在这方面做得不错，”史密斯说。

马斯克为自己的举动辩护，称这只是一个简单的号召投票的努力。

“我们希望确保所有摇摆州的人都知道这一点，我相信这将确保他们知道，”他在X上写道。

特斯拉和SpaceX首席执行官马斯克最近几周已经尽了一切努力支持前总统特朗普，包括向持续支持特朗普的政治行动委员会捐款7500万美元，并出席竞选集会。

“只需到外面与你的朋友、家人、熟人和街上遇到的人交谈，并说服他们去投票，”他在宣布请愿比赛的集会上告诉人群。

朗表示，类似这样的计划每个选举周期都会出现。

“我们通常会看到一些企业以类似的方式参与一些可疑的活动（比如提供一个‘我投票了’贴纸来换取免费物品），但这一举动由于规模较大而引人注目。”她说。

Billionaire Elon Musk, in his push to reelect Republican Donald Trump, has offered to give $1 million to a random registered voter in one of seven key states every day until election day if they sign a petition to enter the drawing - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON

Marion THIBAUT

Donald Trump surrogate Elon Musk's offer of a million dollars to one registered voter in a swing state every day until the US Election Day on November 5 has raised questions about the legality of such a move.

While Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's campaign has not commented on the contest, Josh Shapiro, the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, said on NBC's Meet the Press: "I think it's something that law enforcement should take a look at."

Musk, the world's richest man, announced the contest Saturday in Pennsylvania, one of the seven "swing states" that will likely determine who will become the next US president — Harris, or Republican Trump.

The contest requires entrants sign a petition "to support free speech & the right to bear arms," Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk said on X, the social media platform he owns.

The endeavor enters hot water with the requirement that people are registered to vote in swing states in order to participate.

Danielle Lang, a professor at Georgetown Law School who specializes in election law, told AFP the contest could be "subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Department of Justice."

"It is illegal to give out money on the condition that recipients register as voters," she said.

"As the terms of this 'contest' to win $1 million require the recipient to be a registered voter in one of seven swing states (or to register if they have not already), the offer violates federal law," she continued.

– Gray area –

Rick Hasen, a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, expressed a similar sentiment on his Election Law Blog.

He cited the specific law that prohibits anyone who "pays or offers to pay or accepts payment… for registration to vote," adding that the penalty involves a fine of $10,000 or up to five years imprisonment.

Not everyone is of the same mindset, however.

Brad Smith, the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told the New York Times what Musk is doing is "something of a gray area."

Since Musk is not paying people to register directly, but rather for signing a petition, "I think he comes out OK here," Smith said.

For his part, Musk defends his move by saying it is a simple get out and vote effort.

"We want to make sure that everyone in swing states hears about this and I suspect this will ensure they do," he wrote on X.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk has pulled out all the stops in recent weeks to support former president Trump, including donating $75 million to a pro-Trump political action committee and appearing at campaign rallies.

"Just go out there and talk to your friends and family and acquaintances and people you meet in the street and… convince them to vote," he told the crowd at the rally where he announced the petition contest.

Lang said that schemes such as these occur "each election cycle."

"We tend to see some businesses that engage in some questionable activity along these lines (such as offering a free item for showing an 'I Voted' sticker) but this is notable for its far larger size," she said.